Although Original Medicare doesn’t cover Life Alert, some Medicare Advantage plans (also called Medicare Part C) may cover Life Alert, medical alert systems and other personal emergency response system (PERS) systems as an added benefit.
If you are enrolled in Medicare Part A and Part B (Original Medicare) and want to obtain Life Alert or another PERS, you may have to pay for it yourself.
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Life Alert is a type of response system that alerts emergency providers in the case of a medical emergency. If you have Life Alert or another brand of PERS, you can wear the system all day. It usually comes as a wristband or a necklace.
If you experience an emergency, you just have to press a button and it will activate your phone, connecting you with an emergency dispatcher. You may be able to designate a specific health care provider to call, such as your caregiver or your primary care doctor.
Some advanced systems also detect movements such as a serious fall and can alert emergency services, even if you don’t press the device button.
Learn more about medical alert systems by reviewing this guide from The SeniorList.
Medicare Supplement Insurance plans, also called Medigap, do not cover Life Alert or any other medial alert system.
Medicare Supplement plans provide coverage for some Original Medicare out-of-pocket costs like deductibles, coinsurance and copayments. These plans work alongside your Original Medicare benefits to help you pay for services and devices that are covered by Original Medicare.
Some Medicare Advantage plans – such as some Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans – may cover personal emergency response systems (PERS) such as Life Alert.1
Some insurance providers may offer coverage for Life Alert or other medical alert systems at no added cost, and other providers may charge a fee for the system. Plan availability, benefits and cost can vary based on your plan provider.
Depending on your plan, you may have a monthly plan premium in addition to your Part B premium, an annual deductible and coinsurance or copayment requirements. Some Medicare Advantage plans, however, may feature $0 monthly premiums.
Medicare Advantage plans provide Medicare Part A and Part B benefits combined into one plan sold by a private insurance company. Some Medicare Advantage plans may also include coverage for prescription drugs, dental, vision and wellness programs, which are not typically covered by Original Medicare.
Some of the personal emergency response systems that may be covered by Medicare Advantage plans include:
If you want to find a Medicare Advantage plan that covers Life Alert, you can speak with a licensed insurance agent to compare available plans in your area.
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1 Beaton, Thomas. (Nov. 2, 2017). Emergency Response Devices Add Value to Medicare Advantage Plan. Health Payer Intelligence. Retrieved from https://healthpayerintelligence.com/news/emergency-response-devices-add-value-to-medicare-advantage-plan.
Christian Worstell is a senior Medicare and health insurance writer with MedicareAdvantage.com. He is also a licensed health insurance agent. Christian is well-known in the insurance industry for the thousands of educational articles he’s written, helping Americans better understand their health insurance and Medicare coverage.
Christian’s work as a Medicare expert has appeared in several top-tier and trade news outlets including Forbes, MarketWatch, WebMD and Yahoo! Finance.
Christian has written hundreds of articles for MedicareAvantage.com that teach Medicare beneficiaries the best practices for navigating Medicare. His articles are read by thousands of older Americans each month. By better understanding their health care coverage, readers may hopefully learn how to limit their out-of-pocket Medicare spending and access quality medical care.
Christian’s passion for his role stems from his desire to make a difference in the senior community. He strongly believes that the more beneficiaries know about their Medicare coverage, the better their overall health and wellness is as a result.
A current resident of Raleigh, Christian is a graduate of Shippensburg University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.
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